Most new players have difficulty getting by the first Battle in the Campaign.

The speed of the unit is affected by its condition, + other things) Each individual unit under different conditions/situations in battle, will impact you Army's performance to a greater/lesser degree.

How to tell with a glance which Unit(*Brigade-*Skirmishers-*Artillery Type Gun, etc.) is starting to get stress, learn to rotate Brigades in n out of Battle Line, best Artillery type for what job etc. Routing Units, when will a unit Rout? Where are your units,*Condition/morale levels, Ammo, reloading... Bars, lower left unit info screen.

Another Good resource** By Soldier/Col_K-------The Artillerist Guide to the Ultimate General: Civil War...(Thread is pinned here or Steam Forum...) This is very important, knowing different Artillery types/effectiveness. It will take time to familiarize oneself with the information presented.

Most new players have difficulty getting by the first Battle in the Campaign.

The speed of the unit is affected by its condition, + other things) Each individual unit under different conditions/situations in battle, will impact you Army's performance to a greater/lesser degree.

How to tell with a glance which Unit(*Brigade-*Skirmishers-*Artillery Type Gun, etc.) is starting to get stress, learn to rotate Brigades in n out of Battle Line, best Artillery type for what job etc. Routing Units, when will a unit Rout? Where are your units,*Condition/morale levels, Ammo, reloading... Bars, lower left unit info screen.

Another Good resource** By Soldier/Col_K-------The Artillerist Guide to the Ultimate General: Civil War...(Thread is pinned here or Steam Forum...) This is very important, knowing different Artillery types/effectiveness. It will take time to familiarize oneself with the information presented.

Expanding on @Andre Bolkonsky's excellent post, often the key to victory in Linear Tactics is flanking. Always consider how you can place one or two of your brigades on the enemy's flank, whether its by luring them into an ill-conceived attack, and then counter attacking (my personal favourite) or by moving your weaker units in a direct assault against the enemy, only to flank them with your stronger units once they engage (this is called a "demonstration). Remember to look for isolated units and converge on them, knocking out one or two enemy brigades can lead to the collapse of an entire battle line. Surprising your enemy by concealing your troops behind ridges, then striking their flanks or isolated units, is highly effective to accomplish this. Conversely, you must remember to tie down the flanks of your brigades, and avoid isolation. Often an extended close formation line battle is decided when one commander makes a mistake by offering a single brigade's flank to enfilade. Don't be that commander, secure your flanks, and hold one or two elite reserve units for the moment your enemy exposes his flank.

Finally, in my personal opinion the game accurately reflects the military proportions of the Civil War; that being that Infantry is the key to victory. While every Corps should have Cavalry, and must have Artillery, it is ultimately infantry which strikes the hardest blows, takes the greatest punishment, and achieves success. Artillery supports Infantry from the rear or through the occasional emergency canister, Cavalry dismounted with carbines can be used to temporarily plug gaps and harass the enemy, or to delay them, allowing your Infantry to occupy critical positions. Skirmishers, in turn, should be used to suss out enemy positions, delay enemy deployment, and to harass the enemy when they are engaged with your infantry. As you can see, in all of these cases each branch of your army must be deployed in service to your Infantry, which should be the overwhelming majority of your force.

For example, I used my dismounted Cavalry at Stone Mountain to prevent Jackson from deploying his two left flank brigades on Stone Mountain, though they were eventually driven back, they presented me with the five minutes necessary to deploy two of my brigades on his flank, which attacked his brigades en echelon. Meanwhile, I advanced some of my weakest brigades to his front, threatening him with an attack if he pulled troops out of their cover to resist my flanking attack. Having threatened his front, I moved more brigades to his flank, starting with my weaker troops. As I pushed his flank, I relieved my initial flanking attack with my best troops in my Corps, and pressed the assault with new vigor. As he moved troops from his entrenchments to counter attack, my brigades at his front converted their demonstration to an attack, and thus, in attempting to counter attack, he exposed his flank. By the time my reinforcements arrived, my men already controlled the mountain. In this way, i was able to drive back Jackson's Valley Corps with the weakest Corps of my army, before my stronger units even deployed, and before Longstreet could join battle.

Learning these tricks takes time, and if you are unfamiliar with the Civil War, its even harder. Play some Historical Battles on Colonel, especially Bull Run; which is an excellent learning level.

Also, quit the seceshia and fight for the Union! Liberty and Freedom!

I couldn't help it... ;P

Hope this helps; this game is harder then most casual tactics games (nowhere near as complicated as Scourge of War though, thank God), it takes some time, but the game is truly rewarding, and you owe yourself another go at it :).

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I don't know you, so forgive me for suggesting this if you are a student of history, or at least of historical wargames, and all this is second hat to you.

A working knowledge Linear Tactics is essential to this game; just like and understanding of Armored Breakthrough Tactics is essential to understanding warfare during WWII. An understanding of how Line Infantry works in conjunction with cavalry, skirmishers and artillery to create Combined Arms Effects on the battlefield is necessary. You need to know the basic capabilities of each type of weapon to use them most effectively.

Now, one of the great things about this game is it will teach you what all that means, or you can learn it on your own; but you're going to have to understand why these units move so slowly and how to use your cunning to overcome numbers. But that's half the fun of the game, right there.

There is a learning curve, there are tricks. And there are lots of people on this forum who are happy to help. Just ask.